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Saturday, 2 September 2017

President Trump meets victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas: 'There's a lot of love' and "a lot of happiness"

Donald Trump has returned to Texas to meet volunteers and victims of Storm Harvey, which brought record rainfall and catastrophic flooding to one of America's largest cities.

The President touched down in Air Force One with First Lady Melania Trump to see the devastation wrought by the tropical storm.

He visited Houston, the state's biggest city, before making his way to Lake Charles in neighbouring Louisiana. Both have seen mass evacuations because of the historic flooding.

Mr Trump's first stop was a shelter, where he visited a section reserved for child survivors and listened to their stories.

The president, joined by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, first lady Melania Trump and other officials, stopped at a church in the Houston area and acknowledged the recovery and rebuilding will likely be a “long-term” effort.

“We have a long way to go, but the water is disappearing,” Trump told the crowd.

He spoke of seeing "a lot of love" and "a lot of happiness" after high-fiving one boy and picking up a girl to give her a kiss.

The Trumps later handed out hot dogs in white boxes bearing the Red Cross logo, pausing frequently to greet and take selfies with enthusiastic aid recipients.

They then moved on to a church in Pearland, where Mr Trump praised officials' "terrific" rescue effort.

He told volunteers handing out food and hygiene products: "I don't know if it gets better, but we're going to try to make it better."

The president handed out lunches of hot dogs, chips and apple sauce to people at the shelter. He was also seen giving hugs and playing with kids.